With food prices so high, people are turning back to the days of canning and dehydrating their own food – which will be the subject of a how-to presentation next Wednesday at Maple Valley Library.

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., “Local Food Year-Round: Simple Methods for Preserving Fresh Fruits and Vegetables” will offer simple, money-saving techniques for saving the flavors of summer to enjoy in the darker seasons. The focus will be on making jam and jelly, canning fruit and dehydrating fruits and vergetables.

Jarden Home Brands, a Muncie, Ind.-based subsidiary of Corp. and maker of canning jar and product lines such as Ball and Kerr, offers the following recipe as an example of what an ambitious homemaker-turned-canner can do:

• “Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce.” Makes about eight half-pints. You’ll need

– 6 cups finely chopped pitted peeled peaches (about 3 lb or 9 medium)

– 1 cup finely chopped seeded red bell pepper (about 1 large)

– 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 large)

– 3 tbsp finely chopped garlic (about 14 cloves)

– 1 and a quarter cups honey

– thre-quarters of a cup cider vinegar

– 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

– 2 tsp hot pepper flakes

– 2 tsp dry mustard

– 2 tsp salt

– 8 half-pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

(1) Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

(2) Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens to the consistency of a thin commercial barbeque sauce, about 25 minutes.

(3) Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving half an inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

(4) Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.